On his way back home from college on Thursday, Kartik Thevar, 20, an engineering student came across the two bird-sellers near the Dombivli market. Thevar said, “I saw these bird-sellers betting over these chicken, which had been coloured. They had stuffed around 100 chicken in the carton. I had heard that such things are illegal and began to ask them about what they were doing.”
When Kartik began questioning them, the duo became suspicious and when he threatened to call the police, they fled. “I followed them through narrow lanes for quite a distance. On realising that it was a waste of time, I returned and saw that the chicken had been left behind,” he said.
Kartik then contacted Saurabh Chougule, 20, who works with Plants and Animal Welfare Society (PAWS). The students then took the birds away. Nearly a dozen birds had died due to suffocation inside the carton. Sourabh said, “We fed the surviving birds with water and grains and transferred them into a large bird carrier provided by PAWS. At the NGO, attempts were made to rid the birds of the toxic colours, with which they had been painted,” he said.
Nilesh Bhanage, founder of PAWS said, “These sellers have a cruel process of colouring these chicken. They tie their beaks and throw them into liquid colours. The birds are then strung up till the colours dry.”
Under Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act of 1950, such acts can be punished. Those found guilty of such acts can be punished with a fine or imprisonment for three months, or both.
Manasi Bhanage, co-founder of PAWS said, “Only 96 birds have survived. They are being transferred to activist Fiza Shah’s farmhouse.